A Different Kind of War
by Theelout1453
Summary: AU where TF2 mercs fight trolls who were failed experiments. Please let me know what you think, after you've had a chance to read.Thanks, and have fun! *Discontinued Until Further Notice* Picture: "TF2: Till Death Do Us Part" by Bonzu-Hiso on Deviant-Art. All credit for the picture goes to this fine artist
1. Chapter 1

Slowly, the RED Soldier's eyes opened. The last thing he remembered was that he was defending the third capture point in Dustbowl. The details were hazy; all he knew was that he took a direct hit from the BLU Demoman's grenade launcher. He was launched into the air by the resulting explosion, being only narrowly saved by the Medic on his team. He was still alive, but rendered unconscious.

It was at some time later that he woke up, seemingly on a bed in the resupply room of Dustbowl's final point, the point directly below the rocket. However, the look of the place wasn't as he remembered. The walls, instead of being somewhat clean, were dirty and dull. It wasn't very bright, as only a fraction of the lights worked. It was unusual; normally the resupply rooms were kept relatively maintained. Soldier wondered why the room could have been in such disrepair until his thoughts were interrupted by a low growl. He looked up from his bed to see what had made this sound, only to lay eyes on something that he had never seen, or anticipated before.

He saw a humanoid being that had the stature of a normal human, except that it carried repulsive attributes that ensured the Soldier that this thing was not human at all. Its skin was a sickly shade of grey. When its mouth opened it revealed razor-sharp teeth. When the Soldier could catch a glimpse of its eyes, he noted that it was not like the human eye. The sclera was oddly yellow; whilst the iris and pupil were pitch black. However, the most interesting feature of this creature was the pair or orange-red horns that protruded from its head. The Soldier truly believed that this thing was beyond natural, and was scared out of his wits. Fortunately for him, this thing was too busy being hunched over and sniffing a small puddle of what was presumably blood on the floor to notice that the Soldier was awake.

This gave Soldier the chance to formulate a plan. However, he did not know anything about this thing or how to deal with it, so he remained by his instincts. He clenched his right hand, and there he felt the handle of his shovel. It had never left his side. He raised his hand slowly, preparing to strike the being nearby. He positioned his weapon in the appropriate position, and when he was ready, he struck at the back of the creature's head with all his might. It fell to the floor, screaming an ungodly yell. The Soldier quickly got off the bed and struck it a second time, no less hard. At this point, the Soldier spotted a shotgun lying on the side of the bed. He picked it up and pumped it, the pointed it towards the monster on the ground. Any sane rival would have at least tried to yield. This is what the Soldier hoped for, as then he might have been able to get some answers about what was happening. However, this was no sane rival. The only thing the Soldier received was another blood curdling scream as the thing lunged toward him, forcing him to fire. The creature's life was abruptly ended, leaving the Soldier just as confused as he was when he awoke, if not more so.

However, as baffled as he is, he decided to move forward, as he figured he shouldn't stay where he was. The Soldier slowly trudged outside the resupply room. At the end of the hall he turned and as the exit door came into view, he noticed that it was broken and forced open. Outside, he saw Dustbowl. It was the dead of night, and the scenery looked as though as it was deserted. The control point was glowing red, but that was the least of the Soldier's concerns. He walked outside, intent on looking for answers, and more importantly make sure that his team mates were still alive.


	2. Chapter 2

As the Soldier ventured out into the outside, he was formulating theories on the origins of his intruder and why he was here. Perhaps, he thought, that he was a member of an alien race that came to conquer the earth. Or maybe, he corrected himself, that these were demons sent from Hell to usher in the end times. Whatever the circumstances may be, he knew that they were killable, and that's a fact the Soldier was greatly grateful for. After wandering a few short minutes while taking his time along the way, the Soldier heard a familiar sound, a sort of buzzing, and a loud, happy yell. He was glad to hear it, and rushed over to the control point that stood just before the one he came from, which was where he thought the sound came from. Sure enough, there he was: the RED Heavy that was mowing down a swarm of creatures similar, if not identical, to the first creature that the Soldier had seen. Behind the Heavy was his Medic, always ready to back him up, with his Medi Gun never at rest. It was clear that the both of them had become accustomed to killing this new enemy.

"Bzzzzzt! Ahahaha!" the Heavy said, imitating his Minigun as he watched the bodies of his unnatural victims fall over. Of course, the Soldier was not about to let his friends do all the work. He quickly jumped to near the pair, shotgun at the ready, and eager to assist his team mates. "Soldier!" the Medic piped up as the Heavy let out another elated exclamation to see his comrade alive and well. Soldier expressed his delightedness by chuckling softly, and went straight to business helping Heavy and Medic clear the area. With excellent accuracy, he fired towards the horned beasts that Heavy failed to fill with lead, and on occasion beat them with his shovel if they came too close.

One thing Soldier noticed as he was helping with the slaying of their adversary was that each one sprouted out a different color of blood. The one he killed in the resupply room bled red blood, similar to humans, but some of the victims of his spree bled different colors. He saw a load of colors including blue, purple, yellow, orange and some even bled green. He wondered if this variety in blood color indicated anything about each individual's physical properties, but such a subject was not incredibly important in the heat of a firefight such as this one.

When it seemed that the coast was clear, Soldier took a moment to observe the scenery. Scattered across the ground were the corpses of creatures far different from what he had ever known, with their bodily fluids oozing from them to form puddles of multicolored blood. Apart from that, this part of Dustbowl was relatively undamaged and normal, but even he will admit that such a place as dull as Dustbowl can be slightly unnerving at night, especially when there is a horde of monsters out to kill you. In any case, Soldier wasted no time to greet his team mates, as he was genuinely glad to find out that he was not alone, and that people he cared about were alive.

"Heavy! Medic!" He exclaimed as he smiled in good cheer. "You're alive!"

The pair was just as glad to see Soldier. "Soldier is still alive!" Heavy piped up gladly. The Medic quickly followed by saying that he was glad Soldier was alive, thus he could join with them.

"Well of course I'll go with you! I don't have anywhere else to go, obviously," responded the Soldier.

Heavy then said "Da. We should move now."

"Jawohl," agreed the Medic. "We cannot stay in one place all the time, ja?"

Soldier nodded, and then motioned to get out of Dustbowl by going in reverse order of the control points (as he did earlier, getting from the sixth point to the fifth) to reach the tunnel the BLU team would use to assault Dustbowl, and exit through there. The pair agreed, and together, they were now a trio, and thusly moved on.

(A/N: Dustbowl is a TF2 map, in which the BLU team would start in a tunnel, or underground, area as their initial resupply station. They try to capture a series of six control points that the RED team tries to defend. For more information you can Google it yourself. Sorry.)

The trio went on, only to stop at a nearby resupply room near the fourth control point. They halted because they heard a human sounding scream inside the resupply room, followed by some inhuman growls, implying that there was someone in there that needed their help. Heavy forced open the door, which was relatively weak, meaning that the door went through great abuse already. Inside they found three members of BLU team: a scared Scout huddled in the corner, a sniper with his kukri and a Pyro brandishing his fire axe. The Sniper and Pyro were opposite of each other, surrounding another of the creatures. Judging by the smears on the wall, this one's blood color was purple. It had a pair of horns that were significantly longer than the ones the REDs had seen before, and his grey face was covered by some sort of white paint, leading them to think maybe this was a special creature, and that's why the Sniper and the Pyro hadn't killed it yet. Soldier, without a second thought advanced to assist the imperiled BLUs and aimed his shotgun hastily yet carefully at the target's head. It gave no more than a loud growl before Soldier pulled the trigger and blasted its head open, splattering its purple blood all over the room. The scout, seeing that the danger was no longer active, got up from his fetal position. There was an awkward silence until Sniper uttered quietly, but loud enough for Soldier to hear, "Thanks mate."

"No problem," The Soldier responded, "do you want to come with us? We're getting out of this hell hole."

"Are, are you serious?" asked the scout, perplexed. He wasn't sure why the REDs, their enemies, just saved them and invited them to join their party.

"Da," Heavy said in his thick Russian accent, "RED, or BLU, we work together now."

"We'd be delighted to, mate," the Australian Sniper gladly accepted.

"Mmmph, mmph!" The Pyro muffled excitedly.

The Medic then said "What are you waiting for? Come with us!"

Before the BLUs left with the REDs, they salvaged the resupply locker for any weapons they could put to use. There was a Submachine gun for the Sniper, a Flame Thrower for the Pyro and a Scattergun for the Scout. Once they had obtained and loaded their arms, they went on to unite with their former enemies in a new light. Three became six, and this six would now venture on to escape this apocalypse they knew nothing about, and they made sure to pick up other survivors along the way.


	3. Chapter 2: Episode 1

Somewhat ahead of our group's current location lies a different story. Here, near Dustbowl's second control point, there is a RED Spy. This espionage agent, while he is normally calmer than most under stressful circumstances, was in a total state of panic; he was sweating furiously as he moved in a full sprint to avoid the horde that was just behind him. While the Spy was so fatigued that he only had his fear to motivate him, in contrast his pursuers, who were in a group no lesser than ten, showed no signs of giving way. The swarm was just as intent on catching their prey as ever. Finally the Spy gave up on running, and turned around deciding to face the crowd with honor. He pulled out his revolver and began to fire blindly into the group. With each shot a body fell, until the Spy emptied his clip and could shoot no more. At this point, he put his other hand in his pocket in anticipation of death, fiddling with the pocket watch in it. The remainder of the group charged on, clearly unshaken by the deaths of their partners, and the grey beast at the front of the pack lunged toward the agent and struck a fatal blow on his side with its sharp claws, while simultaneously bunting him with its orange horns, that were no less sharp. With this, the Spy fell, contented that he was able to bring enough down with him. The Spy was dead, and the group marched on, looking for more blood to spill.

When the coast was clear, a figure emerged from the shadows, accompanied by a loud, electronic sound that no one heard as he was relatively alone. This figure was the Spy, who actually averted death by feigning it with his 'normal' watch

(A/N: in TF2, Spies can use invisible watches to hide from the enemy. A special variant of this watch is the Dead Ringer, a pocket watch that is activated when the user takes damage. When damage is taken, the watch blocks 90% of it, and while immediately turns the spy invisible, will drop a dead body. With this, players can fake death and lower the enemies' suspicions.)

The Spy beamed with pride at the thought of him having just outsmarted a bunch of monstrous beasts. However, there was still work to be done, and the Spy made sure this work was done so he could remain alive. He inspected one of the bodies he killed. Spy scanned it with his high-tech cigarette case. The likeness of this creature was now in the case's database. This was important because the case was in reality an advanced disguise kit, allowing the spy to take on any form he wished. Now he could take the form of one of these revolting freaks of nature, which was what he just needed to move among them and stay safe. Spy applied the disguise on himself immediately after calibrations were done. Just as he finished, the same crowd he encountered earlier, this time going towards the tunnels, which led to the exit of Dustbowl. Spy followed them, without any of the bunch being the wiser.

In the tunnels resided a pair of BLU team members. There was an Engineer, who had set up a sentry just prior, and a Demoman, with a set of sticky bomb traps set up scattering the floor. The pistol wielding Engineer was shooting the monsters who dared assault their position, assisting his automated machine gun with the killing. The Demoman fired grenades wherever he spotted his enemies, and when they stumbled upon one of his mines, he would set off the respective mine manually. Wave after wave this dynamic duo slayed without much difficulty. Then, another wave consisting of five descended the flight of stairs that was in view. The defenders killed three of them, expending all of their ammunition in the process; the Demoman was out of grenades, the Engineer's pistol was dry, and the Engineer's Sentry gun, despite being out of rounds, kept attempting to fire upon the assailants in vain, only to produce empty clicking sounds. The pair of monsters advanced slowly, one right behind the other, and the one at the front looking far more ferocious than any other of their adversaries had ever been. This one looked as though it would be tough to defeat it in melee battle, seeing as it had very sharp horns and claws just as sharp. Nevertheless, Engineer dropped the pistol and readied a wrench to beat it with, while the Demoman dropped his grenade launcher in favor of an empty glass bottle. Before either of them got a chance to land a strike or a swing however, the fearsome creature simply fell to the floor. It was clear this foe was dead. On his back, there was a butterfly knife that was just now plunged into him. Behind the corpse was the RED Spy, with his disguise gone. Spy reclaimed the knife from the creature's back, and played a trick with it before putting it back in its appropriate place.

"You're very welcome," he said in his French accent.

Both the Engineer and Demoman were undoubtedly baffled at the situation, so it took them a few moments to make sense out of what had just occurred. Eventually the Engineer spoke, "Well, uh."

Demoman finished his sentence with, "Spy! It's you!"

"Of course," the Spy replied with his calmness being regained at the company of fellow humans. However, their reunion was interrupted by ringing sounds of gunfire and battle cries. Could it be? It was! It was the group of six other survivors that battled their way to the tunnels to escape Dustbowl. Now there were nine of them, united in one place. Most of these people were friends, so they took their time meeting up with each other. Everyone was glad that they were not alone in surviving, and they followed the example of the initial group by agreeing to work together to survive this unusual Armageddon.

"But where do we go once we're out of Dustbowl?" Sniper asked this very important question.

The Soldier responded by pointing at a map resting on the table. "We head over to this spot where I'm pointing at. Here lies a huge Mann Co. Warehouse, so we can hide out there until help arrives or until this entire fiasco blows over. Judging by the distance between there and here, it might take two days of travel, so we should stop by this castle right in the middle. We move out at dawn."

The others agreed with this seemingly foolproof plan, and the team tried their best to get some rest for the journey ahead. At the crack of dawn, the team woke up to a sound, like a horn being blown. It was the Soldier, who cut off the horn of one of the monsters, hollowed it out, and now is being used as a makeshift bugle. Though they thought it was somewhat creative, it still disturbed some.

In any case, the team began to stock up. They looted the resupply lockers for any useful supplies like weapons, ammunition and medicine. By the time the lockers were emptied out, each team member had no less than three weapons, and enough food to last a day, making them hope that there were provisions in the castle. When all were ready, the team moved out of the tunnels the opposite way, leaving Dustbowl for good.

(A/N: For reference, here is a list of weapons each person has: [Scout: Scattergun, Pistol, Aluminum Bat], [Soldier: Rocket Launcher, Shotgun, Shovel, a makeshift bugle made of a horn], [Pyro: Flamethrower, Flare Gun, Fire Axe], [Demoman: Grenade Launcher, Stickybomb Launcher, Empty Bottle], [Heavy: Minigun, Shotgun, a Stick with a golden eagle on top {good for bludgeoning}], [Engineer: Shotgun, Pistol, Wrench, a PDA that allows construction of Sentry Guns in the field], [Medic: A modernized Crossbow, his Medi Gun {used for healing}, a Saw adorned with a red cross on the handle], [Sniper: Sniper Rifle {Bolt Action}, a Submachine gun, Kukri], [Spy: a Pair of Revolvers, A butterfly knife, a Dead Ringer invisibility watch, a normal invisibility wristwatch, a Disguise Kit])

(A/N: Yes. Stacking loadouts. Really.)


	4. Chapter 2: Episode 2

The group of valiant survivors was walking through the tunnels of Dustbowl. This was the first time any of them even thought of leaving for years. Before this all they did was fight amongst each on the payrolls of their respective companies. Things have changed. Now they were banded together under apocalyptic circumstances, being evicted from the place where they were stuck in for quite the lengthy amount of time. But that wasn't the time for reminiscing. Everyone in the party knew that they had to push on and give their full attention to their situation. The darkness in the tunnel was unsettling, as they were far away from any natural source of light. In fact, they would be stumbling in pitch blackness were it not for the mining light fixed onto the Engineer's hardhat. After walking for what seemed like hours, the team reached the exit of the tunnel. On the far end of the hall was a door, where the tunnel widened to make a room of sorts. As they traversed closer to the exit, they spotted a metal object in the dead center of the room. It was a bucket. The said bucket was filled with a murky red substance, and signs of overflow were evident, as there were some lined stains on the outside. Other than that, the bucket seemed full three quarters of the way, and it bubbled occasionally. "Leave it alone," the Medic said, following it up by stating that none of them knew what the substance was, "it could be toxic."

The Soldier, because the pail was in his way, kicked the bucket in order to walk above it. The fluid as it turns out, was rather viscous, as the fluid flowed out of the bucket slowly. Emerging from the mysterious liquid was a grub that looked like it was a larva of some insect. For a head it had the same grey face that the team had encountered before, with underdeveloped horns, being no more than mere nubs. This grub turned to face the Soldier, who was closest to it. It let out a shrieking hiss, opening its mouth and exposing its sharp set of teeth. It scurried away from the Soldier toward the door, shrieked again, and used its little legs to jump and lunge towards the Soldier's face, which had his shotgun unready at the time. His helmet was knocked off his head and the Soldier dropped his shotgun and armed himself with his shovel and started swatting at the grub on his face to get it off. Meanwhile, the grub was clawing away at the Soldier's face, and before the team could provide assistance, the door opened, letting in not only light, but also another horde of the malicious grey-faced demons. As the horde entered, one of them stomped on the Soldier's helmet on the floor, shattering it. The team was forced to direct fire upon the swarm that entered. The Heavy began revving up his minigun and let loose a hail of bullets upon them, with the sniper assisting with the submachine gun, and the Medic backing the Heavy up with his Medi Gun. The Pyro unleashed a wave a wave of fire with his flamethrower, sending most of the enemy horde bursting into flames. As each of them were ignited, they screamed in pain, with each of them either dying from the flames or getting the metaphorical flames extinguished by the bullets coming forth from the rest of the team. In the meantime Spy took careful aim with one of his revolvers, and fired a bullet right in to the Soldier's area, piercing the grub and knocking it off, while leaving the Soldier completely unscathed by the shot.

"Nice shot!" the Soldier exclaimed right before swatting his shovel at the grub, squishing and killing it. He then turned attention to the remainder of the horde, taking his shotgun to finish off the rest of them.

With coordinated effort from everyone, they eliminated the intruding horde. The Soldier looked at his smashed helm on the floor and simply frowned. Meanwhile the Demoman took point and rushed outside, finally glad to take in some fresh air after being stuck in the tunnel for hours on end. But his gladness was interrupted and ended by the sight of the multitude of these monsters he saw populating the green hills they were on; they were practically everywhere. As some of them turned to face the Demoman, he readied his grenade launcher and began firing explosive ordnance at them, screaming, "Get over here and help me get rid of them!"

The Demoman's allies complied and came outside to his aid, weapons blazing. The Scout used a strategy where he would run up close to his enemies, fire his scattergun, and quickly run away, then repeating the process. This tactic proved efficient as he was a fast runner, and thus could get close to blow the things apart and escaping to avoid getting caught.

The Soldier blew into his horn, creating a loud, long sound that most everyone could hear, rallying the rest of the team. He then took the rocket launcher he had and with the Demo, fired launched explosives left, right, and center, in order to take out as many of them as they could. The team resolved to advance as they killed the creatures that came onto them, slowly gaining ground as they ended those who would try to get them. The Medic mainly used his Medi Gun, healing not only the Heavy but also going to the team mates that needed his attention. However, he would sometimes take a break from the healing if everyone was healthy and instead would take out his crossbow and help with some of the attackers.

Even in a move-and-shoot situation like this, the Sniper still liked to use his rifle, which was meant for use when staying in one place. Even though he was using a sniper rifle in such a manner, Sniper, thanks to his perfect accuracy, still managed to make his shots count, not only did he never miss, but all his shots killed in one shot. Everyone else took down scores of monsters with their respective weapons.

When there was a lull in combat, the team used the break to rest, slowing their pace to a near stop and sometimes stopping entirely, so they could prepare for the next bloodletting. Sometimes when the lull was long enough, the team took some time to eat. Miraculously, they were always ready by the time the next wave arrived; they were never caught off guard. This was a cycle that repeated until the sun started to set, and the day was at dusk. The team finished off the latest wave that tried to assault them. Then they passed through an abandoned encampment fenced by wooden walls. When they got through to the other side, they saw their rest stop for the night: the Castle that they were to rest in, Degroot Keep. Quickly they rushed into the castle, being elated that they finally reached their destination for the night. They made sure to fortify the position: they closed the gate with the mechanism that lowered the iron gates, and they (especially the heavy) propped up wooden spikes on the walls to prevent anyone from climbing in. The Engineer placed a sentry gun at the top of the gate, for extra measures.

Finally, the team was at rest, they scrounged the castle for supplies, and found provisions to last the night and the next day, and a bountiful amount of ammunition. Now they had time to rest, knowing they were safe in their little team fortress.

(A/N: YES. Title drop.)


	5. Segment 1

The castle wasn't very large; there was a courtyard, where there were two doors, one of them leading into a sizable room with a resupply room. From there, there was a stair case that led to a series of hallways, which if it was followed, there was another staircase that led to the top of the walls. The other door led to a bedroom with exactly nine beds that shared the room with some advanced computer equipment. The team took some time to explore the castle, in order for them to know it well. After finding doing so, they decided to take some time to go about their business before going to bed at dark. The Scout and the Pyro, after finding a baseball in the resupply locker, went out to the courtyard to play catch with Scout's bat and a lead pipe Pyro found in one of the hallways. Heavy and Medic went to the bedroom to play with the computers, thinking maybe some important information could be gained from them. Soldier and Demoman went to the main room with the locker, and sat on the benches to chat for a bit. Sniper, Engineer, and Spy all went off separately to be alone for a bit, with Sniper going to the top of the wall to think, and Engineer to the end of one of the hallways, and spy to smoke in the corner of the other hallway, close to Engineer.

"Hey, you're getting good at this!" Scout admitted that the Pyro actually had some skill when it came to baseball. "But you're still never gonna beat me!" The Pyro responded with a muffled sound that sounded like "Oh really?" and continued to play, putting in all his effort. The end result was that Scout lost a game that he just invented 26-7, while the Pyro simply gave a smug giggle.

"Pffft. Freaking Try-Hard," Scout mumbled loud enough for Pyro to hear. There was silence in the courtyard for a moment. Then they both laughed heartily; the Scout laughed so hard he started to tear up a little. With a relieved sigh, he said, "I'll admit, Mumbles. You're a good pal." The Pyro responded with a muffled "Thank you."

Medic was on the computer, with Heavy right next to him. Heavy was focusing his concentration on powering down a sandwich he took from the pantry, while his comrade was busy working on the computer, looking for information. After some searching, he found a document that outlined the details of a top secret project. "Herr Heavy, look at this for a moment," the German doctor said to the Russian next to him. Heavy turned his attention from his sandwich to the computer screen. The screen read:

"This was an investment opportunity that promised to benefit the respective companies of Reliable Extraction and Demolition and the Builder's League United. We at TF industries believed that we could play God. We meddled with the very fabric of the human likeness, and attempted to manipulate it in grotesque ways that break most of nature's fundamental laws. We tried to create something that was faster, smarter and stronger than the average human. A replacement for the Mercenaries RED and BLU hired. We tried to create super soldiers that may replace human beings in the field of battle." _There was a picture of one of the creatures displayed._ "Deep in the laboratories in Mountain Lab our scientists went to work on making this supposed superman. The project was code named the 'Trained unRelenting Offensive Livid Laborer' initiative, or TROLL, for short." (A/N: From now on the 'monsters' can be called trolls) "Except that we failed. The test subjects went feral, and killed most of the scientists. After that, they escaped the Mountain Lab facilities. Even as I type this, these, monstrosities against nature are already running loose on the Badlands. If anyone reads this, be warned. They're coming, and they will not relent for any reason. May God have mercy on our souls."

Medic and heavy weren't quite sure what to make of this. These creatures that went by the code name 'troll' were created to replace them, now they were running rampant throughout the Badlands. For some time they just stood there, trying to process all of this information.

Demoman and Soldier were sitting in the main room. They had just finished a discussion on the finer points of hat wearing. Suddenly Soldier took out a bucket that was in his pocket and started cleaning it with a dish cloth.

"Eh, what?" Demoman asked. Soldier responded, "I lost my helmet. This is my replacement." Demoman didn't say anything, he just nodded. After a bit, Soldier put down the bucket, went up and took a white flag that was perched on the wall, and laid it down. He then retrieved a jar of a purple substance from his other pocket and a paint brush from the nearby table. Demoman didn't even have to ask for Soldier to explain. "You notice how each of them buggers spill a different color of blood when they die? Well, I've observed that the toughest ones drop the purple blood and I've been thinking, maybe we could smear their blood on a flag, and it's good for morale. Want to help me design it?"

"Aye," Demo responded, and together they started creating a flag painted out of the blood of their enemies (A/N: Can't get more metal than that)

Spy was just finishing his cigarette that he took out from his disguise kit/ cigarette case. When he was done, he flicked it away, and it landed near the Engineer, who was kneeling down at the corner, facing the ground and oriented towards the wall, with his hands clasped together. Obviously, this attracted the Spy's attention, and after a moment of thought, he walked toward the Engineer to ask him a question. "What are you doing?" The Engineer merely shrugged and gave a low growl.

"Are, are you praying?" Spy asked the question that was on his mind. "I never took you for the religious type."

The Engineer shrugged again, then asked, "What's it to you?"

"Nothing, nothing," Spy responded.

"I suppose you're going to laugh now, huh?"

"No, no. A time like this is not the opportune moment to belittle others' beliefs. It's just that, may I ask why?"

Engineer got up from his prayerful position to face the Spy. "It gives me a sense of hope, you know? It helps to know there's a higher being out there looking out for me, someone I can turn to when things get tough. At least, that's what daddy taught me."

"We could all use some hope right now"

"We sure can. Want to join me, partner?"

"I'd be glad to," the Spy sported a small smile. And together they prayed. (A/N: Please don't flame me. I just thought every survivor group needed the religious one.)

After some time, it got dark, and everyone was assembled in the bed room. Medic and Heavy took turns trying to explain the whole backstory behind their situation.

"Well," Soldier said, "at least now we know what to call them. Those bloody horned abominations."

The team discussed this, and after a while, they got tired and went to sleep. Except, one bed was empty. No one had seen Sniper since he went his own way. Odd...


	6. Segment 2

Dawn quickly approached, and it was time to go on the move again. As they were packing up, they noticed two things. One, Soldier had a katana fixed to his rocket launcher. He claimed that he found it in a secret compartment at the end of a fantastic adventure, and while that was obviously a fake explanation, it was the best they could get. Second, Sniper was missing. For some reason no one was concerned the night before, but at this point Sniper's absence was a cause for panic. Had they really lost one of their comrades? The team rallied, and began to organize a search party. They were almost finished planning when a camper van rolls up right in front of the castle gates. The horn blew and out popped from the driver's seat was none other than the Sniper himself. "Come on now, get in! I'll explain on the way." The team was too shocked to object, so they entered the vehicle their Australian marksman found. Once they were all in, the van drove off, in the general direction of the Mann Co. Warehouse, following a map that was on top of the glove compartment. They drove through a mountain tunnel, which was dark as night because the tunnel lights were not operational. Nevertheless, Sniper managed to navigate the meandering road with noticeable skill.

When they emerged out the other side, there was a large horde of trolls in the area, and undoubtedly they all rushed towards the van. Most of them to no avail, as the metal machine most of the time simply ran over them, killing them and spilling multicolored blood on the windshield. "Bloody bogans, always making a mess," Sniper mumbled to himself as he activated the windshield wiper. Some of the trolls were latching on the side of the van, trying to get in via the windows. Starting with the Soldier pushing one of them off with his makeshift horn, then blowing into it, the team took turns peeping out of the windows, clearing out the sides from assailants. Even the Sniper himself poked his head out with his kukri to decapitate a troll trying to climb on the engine area. Eventually the van outran the crowd, leaving them behind and providing the team with some time to rest. Then, Engineer pointed out an obvious question.

"Hey Sniper, you never did tell us how you got this here camper van."

"Long story short," Sniper explained, "I got bored of being cooped out in our little fort, so I went out from the top to explore a bit. Then, I found this little beauty hiding out in the woods. So, I took it, but first, I needed to clear it out. I needed to deal with some, uh, pests." It was at this point the Pyro tripped on a stray troll's horn and fell on the Scout.

"Ey, watch it there!"

"Hmmph!" was Pyro's response to Scout's remark.

"Hey Sniper," Demoman said angrily, "Ye know better than to stray off from the group. What if somethin' happened to ye and we never found out?"

"Yeah, but I'm here now, aren't I? Besides, I'm feeling a bit confident. I'm the greatest outdoorsman there is."

"Eh, aye," Demoman didn't feel like arguing, so he dropped the subject.

"I am just glad entire team is together now," Heavy remarked.

"Yes," Medic agreed, "We all have each other, and that should never change."

The rest of the team simply agreed and silence took over. Hours passed and boredom ensued, but soon enough, the van ran out of gasoline just in front of the road's end. Leading from a parking lot, there was a dirt trail leading into the heavily forested hill. "Just atop that hill," Soldier pointed at the trail, "should be the warehouse. In there, there'll be enough supplies to last us months on end." The team exited the van and prepared to traverse the hill. "Just be careful," Soldier added, "watch each other closely, who knows what could be lurking in the woods." The team readied their weapons and ventured into the trail. The forest was so dark that most of the light was blocked from reaching the ground, making it all the more eerie. Even though Engineer was taking point with his mining light, he admitted with his facial expression to be nearly overcome with fear, and Spy caught him uttering a short and quiet prayer, and he let it be. Walking slowly and in a group, the team peered carefully at every direction, making sure they would not be ambushed. After walking to the top of the hill and emerging from the forest without being attacked, the Warehouse came into view. It was a very large and tall structure, almost looking like a giant grey cube, and it was lined with rows of windows along every story. As they advanced, a huge swarm of trolls emerged from the forests where they were hiding, and from the derelict buildings dotting the landscape. From a bird's eye view the ground looked like a massive mass of grey, being dotted with small specks of orange. Upon hearing the hundreds of blood curdling screams they took as battle cries, the team began sprinting and increasing their speed tenfold. Everyone developed a simple run-and-gun strategy, mainly focusing on the trolls in front of them so that they won't block their way to their objective. While some had weapons suited just for this situation, such as Pyro, who set all the monsters within his vicinity aflame, and the Soldier, who could blast away at them with his rockets, or at least charge at them with his bayonet at the ready when they got too close, unfortunately there were those like the Heavy who weren't as cut out for mobile combat. While he was able to mow down tons of enemies coming his way, he moved slowly while doing so, often forcing him to cease firing just to catch up. On the whole, the team stuck together making sure no one was left behind.

Scout was the first to reach the doors of the warehouse. He stood by them, defending the doors with his scattergun. Most of them caught up soon enough, and not a moment too soon. Engineer studied the panel by the doors, figuring out how to hack it to open while his team mates covered him. Eventually he got it, and the doors flew open, and everyone went in. Well, most everyone. While eight of the mercenaries were all accounted for, the Spy noticed the Medic was still fighting his way through with his saw. Soldier sprang out of the door in an instant, coming to save his comrade. He could hear is loud pleas for help among the screams of the unnatural hordes. Blasting his way through with his trusty shotgun, he was determined to come to the rescue. The Heavy was providing cover fire from behind the door and he yelled to the Soldier. "Hurry, Soldier! Doors will not stay open forever!" Soldier was almost there, nearly able to grab the doctor's hand, when a large troll came over and struck the bucket-clad warrior with a mighty blow, sending him flying back all the way into the confines of the warehouse. "Medic!" he shouted, incredibly loudly. The doors shut and were relocked automatically, and the Soldier heard his medic yell at the top of his lungs in horror, a sound that was eventually drowned out by the screams of the trolls. The rest of the team observed their surroundings. There were boxes full of supplies, provisions, weapons and ammunition everywhere. They had ensured their survival, but at what cost?

At what cost?


End file.
